This invention relates to the field of cooking appliances, and more specifically to the field of cooking appliances configured to cook foods by the application of conventional thermal heat, or by the application of microwave energy, or by the simultaneous application of both thermal and microwave energy. The latter technique is hereinafter referred to as "combination cooking."
Although combination cooking appliances have been known heretofore, such prior art devices have had a number of drawbacks. The addition of microwave energy to a conventional free standing range presents a number of difficulties in the areas where conventional, thermal heating techniques and microwave heating techniques are not readily compatible.
In one type of prior art appliance, microwave energy is coupled into the cooking cavity by means of a coaxial transmission line terminating in an antenna located in the cavity itself. In order to avoid the creation of standing wave patterns, a stirring device is located in the cavity. The device is reflective of microwave energy and is mounted so as to rotate within the cavity to provide better dispersion of the microwave energy patterns. Such a system takes up valuable space within the cavity, is unattractive, and can present difficult soil cleaning problems.